Amber Linux was a Latvian Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. It aims at being the first business desktop Linux distribution that was tailored specifically to the needs of Latvian users. Features include automatic hardware detection and storage device mounting; GNOME as the default desktop environment; OpenOffice.org as the default office applications suite; Hansa Financials accounting software.

SUSE has announced the availability of a new version of the company's SUSE Linux Enterprise distribution. The latest release, which was originally announced on June 25 with the trial download becoming available on July 17, is version 15 and includes a focus on lowering the barrier for transitioning between the openSUSE community distribution and SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE). "SUSE today launched SUSE Linux Enterprise 15, the latest version of its flagship operating platform that bridges next-generation software-defined infrastructure with traditional infrastructure technologies. The modern, modular operating system helps simplify multimodal IT, makes traditional IT infrastructure more efficient and provides an engaging platform for developers. As a result, organizations can easily deploy and transition business-critical workloads across on-premise and public cloud environments. SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 accelerates enterprise transition from free developer subscription or community Linux (openSUSE Leap) setups to production deployments of fully supported enterprise Linux. Designed to be integrated into commonly used modern development methodologies like DevOps and CI/CD, it boosts users with a faster time to market leveraging open source technology, methods and expertise." Further information can be found in the company's pressreleases and in the release notes. The new release is available through SUSE Download (registration required).

SUSE Linux Enterprise is an interoperable platform for mission-critical computing. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is an enterprise-quality Linux desktop that's ready for routine business use. It provides interoperability with existing systems and many office applications. It also delivers flexibility for desktop and notebook clients, thin-client devices, and high-end technical workstations. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is designed to handle mission-critical workloads. It is an open, scalable, solution that comes with integrated Xen-based virtualization, application security, and systems management across a range of hardware architectures. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server provides interoperability with Windows and other platforms, and it provides a secure foundation for a broad range of edge, departmental and data center needs.

Frederic Crozat has announced the availability of the first beta release of SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE) 15, an enterprise-class Linux distribution based on openSUSE. This will be SUSE's first major release since October 2014 when SLE 12 was made available: "We are happy to announce our first beta release for SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED), SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension (SLE-WE), SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability (SLE-HA). SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 Beta will be our new major release designed for IT Transformation. SLE 15 is developed with both 'Traditional Infrastructure' and 'Software-Defined Infrastructure' in mind, thus significant and major changes from the previous SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 are made to address both worlds in a more elegant and simpler way. Five key objectives for SLE 15: address traditional and containerized infrastructure and provide a common code base for traditional and agile data center; install all SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 products starting from a single medium...." See the release announcement and release notes for detailed information about the new product, known issues and bug reporting procedures. Interested beta testers can download the product (available for aarch64, ppc64le, s390x and x86_64 architectures) from SUSE's download server (registration required, pkglist).

SUSE has announced the release of a new service pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise. The new update, SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 Service Pack 3, runs on x86, ARM, PowerPC and z Systems architectures. The release announcement states the new update includes a number of improvements to virtualization and security: "SUSE Linux Enterprise has always been part of any 'zero downtime' solution. Now you can further enhance uptime with: Improved geo recovery management with a geo cluster bootstrap kit that simplifies cluster implementation. The ability to increase visibility and improve management of the high availability environment with an updated graphical user interface. Faster time to value with quick start guides for the High Availability and Geo Clustering extensions to help you get up and running quickly. Faster data access, increased database performance and optimized SAP applications all help drive agility, performance and security." Further information can be found in SUSE's Highlights (pdf) document. SUSE Linux Enterprise is a commercial product and is available with a 60 day free trial, available from the company's Download page.

SUSE has announced the release of a new service pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise. The new software, SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 Service Pack 2, offers a number of performance improvements and bug fixes. However, the biggest news is SUSE's support for a wide range of hardware, such as ARM-powered devices. The distribution is also introducing enterprise level support for Raspberry Pi computers: "Go ahead and adapt to new technologies in your data centers to reduce power hungry infrastructure and replace it with power efficient ARM 64 architectures. Don't be left behind in catching the wave of new uses for the Raspberry Pi. SUSE is one of the first to bring enterprise support for Raspberry Pi and 64-bit ARM v8-A platforms. In mixed IT environments you can easily stay ahead of the curve with full support for IBM Power Systems, OpenPOWER servers and the newest virtualization capabilities of IBM KVM and z/VM." Further information can be found in the Highlights document. SUSE Linux Enterprise is a commercial product with 60-day free trials available from the company's Download page (pkglist).

The SUSE team has announced the availability of the first service pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise 12. The new release, SUSE Linux Enterprise SP1, features rollback functionality through Btrfs, the GNOME 3.10 desktop environment and the ability to download software updates during the installation process. The new release is available in Desktop and Server editions. The Desktop offering includes seven years of support while the Server edition features a thirteen year life cycle. "SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 introduces a number of innovative changes. Here are some of the highlights: Robustness on administrative errors and improved management capabilities with full system rollback based on Btrfs as the default file system for the operating system partition and SUSE's snapper technology. An overhaul of the installer introduces a new workflow that allows you to register your system and receive all available maintenance updates as part of the installation." Further information can be found in the release announcement and in the release notes for the Desktop and Server product lines. SUSE Linux Enterprise is a commercial product with the company offering free 60-day trials which can be acquired from the company's Download page.

Yesterday SUSE announced the availability of the fourth service pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 "Desktop" and "Server" editions, a set of commercial enterprise-class Linux distributions: "SUSE has made it easier for customers to take advantage of the processing power and innovations of the latest hardware with the release of SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 Service Pack 4. In addition, scalability improvements in SP4 will allow more customers to run large-scale workloads such as in-memory databases on SUSE Linux Enterprise 11. SP4 also upgrades key components in the high availability clustering stack - including pacemaker, booth and ReaR - to the same versions in SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 12. These upgrades allow customers to fully exploit the stack to enhance service availability for mission-critical workloads. SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time Extension, a system specifically engineered to reduce latency and increase the predictability and reliability of time-sensitive, mission-critical applications, is also upgraded." Read the rest of the release announcement and check out the detailed released notes (desktop, server) for further information. The products, supporting five hardware architectures, are available for download for evaluation lasting up to 60 days.

SUSE has announced the availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 "Desktop" and "Server" products, commercial distributions built primarily for deployment as enterprise desktops or servers: "SUSE today announced the general availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise 12, the newest version of its reliable, scalable and secure platform for efficiently deploying and managing highly available enterprise-class IT services in physical, virtual or cloud infrastructure. New products based on SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 feature enhancements that more readily enable system uptime, improve operational efficiency and accelerate innovation. The foundation for all SUSE data center operating systems and extensions, SUSE Linux Enterprise meets the performance requirements of data centers with mixed IT environments, while reducing the risk of technological obsolescence and vendor lock-in." Read the press release and browse the detailed released notes (desktop, server) for further information. 60-day evaluation builds of SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 are available for free download (pkglist) from download.suse.com (registration required).

Yesterday SUSE released the third service pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 "Desktop" and "Server" editions, a set of commercial enterprise-class distributions for desktops and servers: "SUSE today announced the general availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 Service Pack 3. This latest service pack brings additional industry-standard hardware support and open source features and enhancements to SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, the most interoperable platform for mission-critical computing - across physical, virtual and cloud environments. With Service Pack 3, customers can achieve better workload performance in a more scalable, secure and cost-effective manner. Service Pack 3 gives customers more scale-up and scale-out options to run their mission-critical workloads with support for new hardware, features and enhancements." Read the press release and check out the detailed released notes (desktop, server) for more information. 60-day evaluation editions are available for free download (after registration) from download.novell.com.

The second service pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, a commercial enterprise-class Linux distribution for desktops and servers, has been released: "SUSE today announced the general availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 Service Pack 2 (SP2). Notable features include an updated Linux kernel, enhanced file system support, and expanded virtualization capabilities. 3.0 Linux kernel: SP2 includes scheduler and memory management optimizations, support for transparent huge pages and per-CPU network load balancing. SP2 supports the latest Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron processors, and exploits new hardware RAS features like CPU and memory offlining. Btrfs: SP2 is the first Linux platform to offer commercial Btrfs file system support. Snapper, a unique tool that's integrated with YaST and Zypper, uses the copy-on-write and snapshot capabilities of Btrfs to help administrators audit and roll-back system configuration changes." Read the SUSE press release for further information. Evaluation copies of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Desktop 11 SP2 can be obtained from Novell's download page (registration required).